Page 117 of By the Horns
“Yes, but this is an emergency.”
I lower my voice and lean in. “For someone who didn’t want to use mancer powers, you’re sure quick to pounce on them now.”
That silences him. He goes back to pacing.
In the end, one of the enforcers, named Hopkins, goes into the city. He’s got family in the lower side of Vastwarren, and he’s going to visit them and gather forces to go to the city guard. From there, they’ll head for the guild quarters and see just how bad the damage is.
The rest of us wait by the riverside.
In truth, I thought the night would be endless, but I’m exhaustedfrom fighting, and it’s nice to just sit and hold my mate close. Gwenna sleeps on through the night, lightly snoring in my arms in a way that I find utterly adorable, and which causes Stork to frown in our direction. Like I care what he thinks. Jay seems thoughtful as he sits with us, washing his wounds and offering to tend to mine.
I snarl at him, as any good Taurian would. If anyone’s going to fuss over me, it’s going to be Gwenna.
It’s dawn before we hear horses approaching. I gently set Gwenna down on the ground as she sleepily tries to focus. I kiss the top of her head, and a surge of love for this small, determined female fills my heart. “I won’t let anyone touch you,” I tell her, pulling her close to my chest. “I’ll fight every last one of them if I must. Don’t worry.”
She leans against me, fatigued. Through the haze of exhaustion on her face, fear flickers. “But what—”
“No buts,” I tell her gently. “You’ve been mine since the first day we met, and nothing today is going to change that. You think I would let you be in danger? That anyone here could keep me from my mate now that she’s safe in my arms? I’ll handle this, little bantam. You don’t need to worry at all.”
I mean it, too. My protective instincts are surging—a stronger sensation than my mucking knot, that’s for certain—as I make sure she’s settled and comfortable. Then I move to the front of our group, and my hands curl into fists. If I must fight to shield my mate and my companions until my last dying breath, I will. If I have to fight all of Vastwarren to protect Gwenna, I’ll gladly do so.
If I have to fight the gods themselves to keep her safe…bring it on.
But when the horses arrive, it’s Master Tiercel, Hopkins, and two other guild masters. “It’s all over,” Tiercel says, riding forward. “You’re safe. I’ve got a wagon full of medics heading up here. I heard there were wounded?”
Rooster pushes forward. “The insurrection—”
Tiercel holds up a hand. “Fizzled into nothing. Master Hawk has arrested all of the lift operators and is holding them for questioning.”
The guild leader blusters. “That…that’s very good. But why isn’t Hawk here to report on this to me?”
“Have you ever seen a Taurian on a horse?” is all Tiercel says, and I laugh despite myself. Count on Hawk to swoop in and save the day. Someone probably threatened a hair on Sparrow’s head, and he cleaned house.
Which is good, because it means we can finally rest.
Fifty-One
Gwenna
Iwake up inthe softest hospital bed, a down pillow tucked under my cheek. I’m facing a window, and the panes are absolutely filthy. I bet no one’s cleaned them since I was here months ago. It figures that I was the only one having to clean the damned things.
I roll over in bed, feeling like one big bruise. Everything hurts. On the bed to my other side is Raptor, his big Taurian body practically overflowing the much smaller hospital bed. His eyes are closed, bandages up and down his arms, and one across his muzzle. The moment I roll over, he turns to look at me.
“We’ve got to quit meeting like this,” I murmur.
“I don’t know. Every time I wake up with you next to me, I consider that a win.”
“I don’t know if it’s much of a win if we’re in the hospital,” I say, rolling onto my back. Immediately I wince as pain shoots up my arm, which I notice is wrapped so tightly it looks like it’s wearing a corset. “Gods, everything hurts. Are we injured?”
“You, my delightful mate, are dehydrated and exhausted from being in the caverns, and you fractured your wrist. Me, I lost some blood and got bitten a hundred times by ratlings, so they’re filling me full of the worst herbal concoctions possible to ensure I don’t get sick.”
He sounds so grumpy and put out that it reminds me of teenaged Aspeth every time someone tried to get her to put down her book. I look over at Raptor, frantic. “Wait—Aspeth—Kipp—Arrod—”
“Everyone’s safe,” Raptor continues. His mouth lifts in a smile. “You think I’d let you lie about if they weren’t? I know you better than that.”
I relax, because he wouldn’t, in fact, let me sit around if my friends were in danger. He’d be the first one to wake me up. “What did I miss?”
“A lot, it seems. Hawk took control of the situation. Once they dumped your group, they decided to take Sparrow and Arrod hostage. They tried to get Kipp, but he was too fast and scaled the walls to get away from them. You know he can move sideways on a wall?”
